Tuesday, November 8, 2011

A good night...

None of the final results are in; but AP has called the results in three initiatives we've been watching closely... It appears that Mississippi voters have voted down the 'Personhood' Initiative; a clear attack on reproductive rights. That's a better result than I had hoped for...Yay, Mississippi!  Maine has voted to reinstate resident's ability to register on election day; which had been law for nearly 40 years, until the Repo's over-reached and changed it.  (Oh, no!!! 2 cases of voter fraud in 40 years...a reminder that if we need protection it's protection from the Republican party) And, (HUGE!) Ohio voters rejected Issue 2;  the Republicans' bill to destroy public workers' collective bargaining rights. The decisions are made by those who show up- thank you to all who turned out to vote!

Things that suck...

Today's list of things that suck...
Let's start the list with Rush Limbaugh. He's a slimy, snarky piece of trash- and anyone who is fool enough to let him into their home ought to pull their head out of their butt...all the way, not just part way out- because honestly, if you give credibility to this dickhead, you're pretty much an much asshole by association.
This is the same asshat who believed every whory thing that has been said about each and every Democrat, but is now defending Herman Cain against the growing sexual harrassment allegations. He spent a lot of energy mispronouncing Sharon Bialick's name last night, and succeeded only in making himself sound even creepier and pervier than usual. One of these days, his ass is going to get busted while he's trolling for illegal Viagra scrips....the rat bastard.

Something else that sucks? The 'Personhood' Amendment. We're watching Mississippi where some scary stuff is coming down. I wonder if voters there will decide that basic rights should be ripped away from 50% of the persons that already exist outside the womb. Initiative 26 is mind-boggling... denying women control of their own reproductive rights; going so far as to not only outlaw abortion, but restrict birth control and  invitro fertilization. I find it unreal that ANYONE would let the Mississippi Legislature in their uterus. And another thing- if you've got a penis, why should you have a say? It's simple. You don't have the equipment, you don't get a say in what goes on with the equipment. Here in Colorado, we had a similar ballot initiative last year. It was defeated by a healthy margin, but hell...we're not Mississippi. I wonder if they'll demonstrate why not all of us jump on the States' rights bandwagon.

Bible-thumpers who insist on hitting their kids suck, and since violence is the only thing that these assholes comprehend, they ought to get their dicks shut in the car door whenever they open their mouths to preach this crap. These fuckers surface every once in a while and go on about how they're directed by God to punish their children. They seem to obsess about punishment. Don't their kids ever behave? These guys also always like to go on and on about "How they got beat when they were kids and they're just fine!" Hey, guess what..."You're not." People emerge as healthy humans in spite of physical violence, not because of it, and anyone who believes otherwise is misinformed. Or just stupid. It is possible to raise healthy children without hitting them-if people have to resort to hitting it means they lack resources, or they are simply not as smart as the children they are in charge of. Or indulging their own tempers. Using the bible as justification is garbage- but it does give insight into why the kids who go nuts and kill their parents almost exclusively come from religious backgrounds.


Rance Dazzle or whatever the name of that little pipsqueek who heads the Republican National Committee sucks. OK, his name isn't Rance Dazzle, it's Reince Priebus, and I just got done listening to him answer (try and answer) on what a train wreck the Republican candidates have been. He snaked around the fact that in spite of the economy and criticism from both the right and left, if the election was held now, President Obama would beat ALL of the Repo's. Just sit there in your nastiness, Rance, or Reince or whoever you are, until you realize that we have a waaayyyy lower opinion of  the tea partiers in Congress than we do of the WH. Anyway, you are totally irrelevant.

Non-political sucking items:

Cats that weigh too much, climb up on the table and eat pasta off your lunch plate suck. This cat ignores more diet rules than I do.( the fat bastard weighs 32 lbs! Healthy cat food? Right.)  He refuses to stay off the dining room table, so I finally compromised and stuck a cardboard box there- he climbs in and mostly stays out of my way, except when he doesn't. Today, when I was distracted by the phone, he got out and finished my lunch. I was only away from the table for 3 minutes, but Jeez- who wants to eat pasta after it has cat spit on it? Good thing I'm not one of those creepy fundies- I know how they deal with disobedience. Not going to smack the cat. Will reason with him...he's obviously smarter than the average Republican. Just for the record, he takes up the same space as 4 six packs of beer; in case you were wondering, and I think I threw out my back the last time I had to do cat removal.

Going down to the basement sucks. The only reason I ever go to the basement is because that's where the washer and dryer are...and now, I put that off until I'm totally out of clean underwear. Otherwise I'd never, ever go down those stairs. It's frightening down there. I live in mortal fear of mouses.(I know, I know, the plural of mouse is mice, but in my mind, referring to them as mouses makes them sound not so vermin-y. Vermin-y? Too much?) I've never seen a mouse in the basement, but I know that if ever there were a mouse in the house it would hang out in the basement. Plus, it's always dark, and that's where the serial killers stay, or would if they ever came to the house. What I have seen in the basement is a couple of scorpion bodies, a few live lizards, a toad, and about 4,722 assorted bugs, both the live and dead variety. I may give up wearing panties altogether, because then I could put off laundry for even greater stretches, but that's a topic for another day.

Monday, November 7, 2011

With 56% voter turnout, who needs Republican suppression?

So we had an election last week in Colorado. Voter turnout here in Delta County was 56%. I guess folks just didn't figure it was important- hell, just a measure to fund education, some local  issues and school board elections.
Here's the thing... a whole bunch of folks who didn't bother to cast their ballots are the liberal-types, the ones who regularly express their disdain with the ultra-conservative forces here. Why did so many on our side just hand the election over to the other guys? If they were too busy, or didn't think it made a difference- they should be aware that one of the religious types who really believes in returning prayer to schools, and voices her support for a 'Christian Nation' won her seat, beating out a very qualified, educated guy with vast experience as an educator and administrator in both rural and urban environments. She won her seat by 63 votes. If 64 of our like-minded friends could have been bothered to inform themselves, and get their ballots in, it would have made a difference. But basically, they didn't give a shit. It wasn't even a matter of getting to the polling place- it was just a case of getting the ballot mailed in.
The right wing kicks our asses on this one- because too often our side is laser-beam focused on single issues,  fickle and in this case, simply too self-absorbed to realize that their lack of involvement does affect others.
One friend told my husband he didn't bother to vote because he didn't have kids in school- so the outcome really wouldn't have any impact on him... REALLY?
Who in hell does he think is going to be serving in future government? Protecting his rights in court should the need arise? Developing new technology? Handling his investments? Doing his open heart surgery? Writing the books he reads? Creating the music he longs to hear? Filling his prescriptions? Giving his dog a rabies vaccine? Oh...that stuff.  Does he not realize that without educating future generations, none of the elements he takes for granted can be a reality?  Does he not realize that just because he is not genetically linked to a child in school, as an American,  he still shares the responsibility to educate our next generations? They are all our children, and we'd better wake up, get off our asses and be responsible. It would be a benefit if the education we provide was based in facts and embraced science rather than religious dogma. It would be nice if we moved forward rather than backwards. But, the decisions are made by those who show up.
It starts with voting. It's pretty simple- every week there is a new story about Republican efforts  across the country to suppress the vote- always in heavily minority and Democratic districts. Sometimes, listening to some of my like-minded friends, I don't think the Republicans have to bother- we'll suppress our own vote just by refusing to participate.
Here's the thing...call me simple, unsophisticated, and naive in my belief that showing up makes a difference,but right here, right now- there is proof. 63 votes in one election, 75 in another. I know that if more residents of one particularly progressive town around here would have gotten out to vote, the outcome would have been different.
It doesn't matter how minor the issues seem to be, or how 'inconvenient' studying up on your ballot initiatives may feel. The citizens who were threatened, beaten or killed a few generations ago just to cast their ballots probably wouldn't want to hear about it. All the people of color and women who have been denied the right to vote over the years deserve more respect.  My grandmother was 32 years old before she got the right to vote; no one could convince her there was any such thing as an unimportant election. Sadly,  I think in this case, the other side gets it, and we don't...and the outcome of that could be the most threatening element to our democracy ever.